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Australian photographer Kate Ballis has toured Palm Springs with an infrared camera and coloured filters to produce these images, which show the muted desert city in lucid purple, pink and red tones.

Kate Ballis' Infra Realism includes the iconic Kaufmann House by Richard Neutra

Melbourne-based Ballis created the Infra Realism series to offer alternative views of Palm Springs' famed mid-20th century architecture, having captured its vistas many times previous.

The images create surreal views of buildings like the Twin Palms Estate by E Stewart Williams

"Palm Springs is almost a second home to me, so after photographing its deserts, houses, pools, and cars many times it started to become a bit ordinary," Ballis told Dezeen.

"Although I was still in love with the place, my wonderful friends, and mesmerised by the light on the mountains, it was no longer my artistic muse, and I really wanted to re-enchant the city and the high-desert landscapes."

Ballis documented a variety of architectural typologies, such as a Swiss Miss house created by Charles Dubois and built by the Alexander Construction Company

The photographer bought a new digital Sony device and sent it off to be converted into a full-spectrum camera. This was able to capture infrared, or heat, radiation rather than visible light.

Ballis then added coloured filters over the lens, resulting in a set of surreal images featuring pink and purple buildings, blue shrubbery and red skies.

Her technique, used to capture spots like the Palm Springs Tennis Club, involved converting her digital camera into a full-spectrum camera

For example at the Palm Springs Tennis Club, the swimming pool is turned a deep, watery red hue, while the skin of the sunbathers is shown as mottled blue.

To display The Ace Hotel and others in a new way, Ballis used coloured lens filters to further alter the images

"I have subverted a technique used by many photographers who want to make infrared a more natural theme, and instead I have created a palette that is completely different to what we expect from a landscape," Ballis said.

"It took a good few days of playing with filters and techniques until I reached an aesthetic that made the series what it is," she said. "The colours I settled on for the series allowed me to question reality and create ambiguity in everyday scenes."

The images helped Ballis notice the abundance of flora in the desert city, as seen around this residence in the Vista Las Palmas neighbourhood

The photographer, who also documented the city's motels and apartment blocks, said that the infrared filter enabled her to pick up on details that she would otherwise miss.

The abundance of the vegetation in the desert city was a particularly surprising element.

Water at this pool in the Indian Canyons neighbourhood takes on a sinister red hue

"I started viewing Palm Springs as a lush oasis, where succulents and palm trees thrived and synthetic grass can be identified through the viewfinder from 100 metres away," she said.

"It has been fascinating to photograph a landscape that appears muted and dead, but realise that the shrubs and cactus are actually alive and well, and in infrared glowing brighter than anything else in the scene."

This residence on Sierra Way has become known as The Pink Door House, but the whole facade is rosy in Ballis' photo

The strong contrast between the buildings and the planting works against an intention of desert modernist architecture, which was often built with natural materials and tones to match with the surrounding landscape. "What appears to the eye as a dusty brown scene is actually a glowing world," said Ballis.

The mix of architectural shapes seen in the photos include the angular roof of this house on South Caliente Drive

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Dezeen Daily Dezeen Weekly

Dezeen Daily is sent every day and contains all the latest stories from Dezeen.

Dezeen Weekly is a curated newsletter that is sent every Thursday, containing highlights from Dezeen. Dezeen Weekly subscribers will also receive occasional updates about events, competitions and breaking news.

We will only use your email address to send you the newsletters you have requested. We will never give your details to anyone else without your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email, or by emailing us at privacy@dezeen.com.